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Western Notes: Sterling, Owners, Lakers

May 2 2014 at 10:32pm CDT By Eddie Scarito

Donald Sterling has kept a low profile since NBA commissioner Adam Silverbanned him for life and fined him $2.5MM on Tuesday. Sterling broke his silence in an interview with DuJour.com, saying, “I wish I had just paid her [V. Stiviano] off.” Stiviano, in an interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters, characterized Sterling’s current state of mind as “confused,” adding,“I think he feels very alone, not truly supported by those around him. Tormented, emotionally traumatized”(link via ESPN.com).

More from out west:

On Friday morning, Clippers coach Doc Rivers met with team employees who were still upset and angry several days after Sterling was banned for life from the NBA, writes Greg Beachum of The Associated Press. According to the article, Rivers said employees on the team’s business side considered not working for the franchise after Sterling’s racist comments were exposed. Rivers also was quoted as saying, “What I witnessed today, you realize this thing has touched a lot of people. The people that didn’t do anything are being harmed by this, and I wish we could find the right solution, and I don’t have it.”

Bernard James, the player representative for the Mavericks, hopes the NBA forces Sterling to sell the team, but he also thinks the owners are on a “slippery slope,” writes Dwain Price of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. James said, “I’m sure morally, most of them don’t agree with what Sterling said. But them voting for him to lose his team is hard for a lot of owners. And a lot of them are scared that maybe if I (the owner) do something, or I mess up or say something, or be caught on video doing something I shouldn’t be doing, if it comes to a vote they could take my team. And this would set a precedent for it.’’

The Lakers search for a new head coach just adds to the uncertainty about the franchise’s future, writes Mark Lamport-Stokes of The New York Times. This is in addition to 12 of the 15 players on the roster expected to become free agents this summer, notes Lamport-Stokes.